How Aloha Aina Changed The Way I Connect With Nature
In This Article You Will Find.
In April 2024, my family and I took a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Hawaii. Never in a million years did I imagine it would be such a life-changing experience!
Hawaii is the type of place that makes you feel tranquil as soon as you step foot on the island, but our trip was beyond that. More specifically, this experience changed the way I perceive nature. It made me realise that Hawaii is not just about hiking, surfing, sunbathing on sandy beaches, or sightseeing. Hawaii is about Aloha Aina!
The literal meaning of Aloha Aina is “love of the land”, but it is so much more than that. It is about respect, care, and culture. It is not a choice, but a way of life. The philosophy of Aloha Aina teaches us to live in harmony and reciprocity with nature.
The depth of the expression made me mind-blown and inspired me to dig deeper. Here are my discoveries.
The Meaning Of Aloha Aina
You are probably familiar with the word Aloha. It is known as the Hawaiian greeting. But for the Native Hawaiians, its significance is related to deep love and affection, utmost kindness, and power that holds every living thing together. The famous salutation has a far more complex and spiritual meaning than just an acknowledgement of presence.
As far as Aina goes, the word literally means ‘land’ and refers to land that provides food and sustains all living things. Whether that is the soil that supports the life of plants, the water that is the essence of everything, or the air that feeds all living things oxygen, Aina can be understood as life itself.
When these two powerful words connect, their meaning extends to something so pure, simple, and empowering at the same time. Aloha Aina guides us to live in a world where all living things matter equally. And the word equally is what changed my viewpoint completely.
Photo Credit: Mihis Alex
This profound concept made me suddenly open my eyes and realise that nature doesn’t serve me more than I serve it. And how different it is from what I have been raised to believe. It dawned on me that human beings are not at the top of the hierarchy but coexist with nature and if we are all equal it should be valued equally.
It’s like nature saying ‘You are not more important than I am’ and ‘We are in a reciprocal relationship, we depend on each other, so if you don’t care about me, I will not care for you’’.
It may sound simple, but viewing nature like this is so much different from how I previously perceived it. If I’m honest, I have seen nature as something that I can visit, take materials from and play in. I believed that nature would be ok even if I took from it and did not give back.
Somewhere along the way, it seems to me we have lost that sense of land stewardship and broken our connection with nature. We have become lost in a world where we believe that nature is secondary and will be alright no matter what. Nature is strong and we can take from it and it will be giving us without needing anything back. But when I look around me, it makes me wonder how long nature can keep giving before becoming unstable and exhausted. In any case, it doesn’t feel like a healthy, loving and sustainable relationship.
History Of Aloha Aina - A Sense Of Community And Value
As I dug deeper to learn more about Native Hawaiian culture, I came across interesting information about how the land was divided in ancient Hawaii. Apparently, people lived within ahupua’a—strip-formed subdivisions that stretched from the mountains to the ocean and had all the resources needed to survive. They used the forests for wood and game, the streams for fresh water, the fertile land for farming, and the ocean for fishing.
Each ahupua’a functioned as a self-sufficient community. All people were equal, held equal responsibility for the part of ahupua’a they lived in, and shared resources with the rest of the parts. The people living near the ocean were in charge of fish, inland groups shared their crops, while the upland people provided the timber. No one misused their resources and balance was present all the time. They all worked together and functioned as one, led by Aloha Aina.
A Feeling Of Respect, Reciprocity And Gratitude
As an urban type of woman, I must admit that my relationship with nature was reduced to occasional hikes and picnics in the forest, weekends camping with my kids, and vacations to France and Austria to hike in the mountains.
I was always respectful towards nature, and I teach my kids to have the same respect. But Aloha Aina showed me that, as part of the land that I live in, it is my duty to give something back.
I have learnt that instead of perceiving nature as something we can use, own, or exploit, we could be its guardians, taking only as much as we need and giving back twice as much.
Whether it was gardening, donating trees, volunteering in local environmental events, consuming less or recycling, I felt the urge to give the land something back as a form of gratitude for giving me so much.
Photo Credit: Chris G.
For that reason, I started with a course in learning about the impact that I have on the environment and learned how to reduce it in doable and easy steps. I got so excited that from this I wanted to start giving back for all that I have already taken from nature without giving anything in return.
My family and I are on a journey to reshape our view on nature and how we can see it as equal, giving back and showing respect for it. We take it slow so that it will become a habit and be rooted in our behaviour. A simple change we made with a great impact is that we began thanking the Wildernis (nature) when we start our dinner. Being thankful for the food that nature gave us.
‘The Wild’ - A Book That Changed My Perception Of Nature
I started reading a book called ‘The Wild’ to Voss (my son), and it tells the story of Nature and our modern-day relationship with it. The Wild is a big animal that gives us everything we need and we can live on it. And when we took more and more and did not give anything back, it became exhausting. A little boy saw this and nurtured nature back to life.
I want this fairy tale to become a reality for my children. Where nature can blossom and grow again. Because of this book, when we go hiking in the forest, we take an extra bag with us and we play the game ‘What does not belong in the wild?’. Voss loves it and reminds us about it whenever we take a walk now. He picks up plastic and says ‘I’m helping the Wilderness!’ and he is so proud. He sees the Wilderness as a gigantic animal that needs to be taken care of so that he can take care of us and we can live on his back.
Photo Credit: cottonbro studio
I want to raise them with that respect, awareness and gratitude towards nature. And maybe my actions will inspire other people and they will join me. Those people will inspire other people and that is how environmental awareness can be spread.
Just imagine if we all adopted that mindset, and expressed our appreciation towards nature by giving something back. We would be leaving our children a far better place to live in. By treating our land as sacred, we would be investing in our future generations. And creating a safe place for them to live instead.
Be Aware Of The Environment And Live A Sustainable Life
In today’s society, sustainable living, unfortunately, still a choice. Aloha Aina teaches us how to adopt all those choices and make them a way of life. The ancient philosophy paved the way for showing us that we are not the rulers but just a part of one large ecosystem in which we must learn how to coexist.
I started believing that the land is my partner in my survival, and I, as its steward, should cultivate a sense of respect, responsibility, and appreciation for it. Instead of seeing myself as superior, I realised that I was only a guest in nature, and the hospitality nature was going to show me depended on my behaviour.
After understanding our connection with nature and our duty to respect it as one would respect a person, I explored my options on how to put my version of Aloha Aina into action. I encountered the word mālama, which means to nurture our environment, to care for, honour and protect our land.
Mālama is not only about refraining from doing damage but engaging in actions that restore and heal our environment. Consuming less only made me reduce the harm I was doing, but creating guides and courses on how to reconnect with nature will inspire others.
Redefined Sustainability
Modern sustainable living often revolves around the consumerism movement. I tried to become more eco-friendly, buy second-hand, pick sustainable products, and purchase local and seasonal food. And somehow it was really hard for me to follow all of it. I did follow most of this and not always with pleasure because I love to buy things and pursue wealth. Not buying is difficult for me, let alone my guilty pleasure of finding a bargain.
But, somehow it felt superficial to me. Like knowing that eating unhealthy makes you gain weight. It’s not enough to go on a strict diet and suffer to lose weight sustainably. It’s okay to do it for a couple of weeks but not enough to change my eating pattern in the long term. And this felt the same. I didn’t have my “aha” moment yet.
The concept of Aloha Aina changed this. For me, it takes it one step further. Because now it does not feel like I need to restrict myself. It feels like I didn't understand why I was doing it and that I somehow forgot this important rule. If I do not take care of nature, then nature can not take care of me. And that I'm not above nature and can not consume so much and still expect to live abundantly.
I am trying to say that Aloha Aina teaches us to go one step further – to be mindful of our behaviour and realize that we are in a reciprocal relationship, we need each other.
It’s not always about going ‘green’ whenever we have the opportunity but changing our way of thinking. If you change your way of thinking and put on your Aloha Aina glasses, you suddenly see everything from a different perspective and it makes going green so much easier. Embracing Aloha Aina means leading a conscious and respectful lifestyle, and learning to appreciate quality over quantity.
Be In Harmony With Nature
Aloha Aina taught me to slow down and observe nature’s way of changing because that’s how Native Hawaiians survived on a remote island. They followed the natural rhythm of the land, ocean and sky to adapt and harmonise with it. There was no dominance, but balance instead. They listened to the tides, the position of the stars and the behaviour of birds and animals and acted accordingly and respectively. Nature has its own timetable that we cannot change or affect. All we have to do is observe, cooperate and adapt.
I found out that the concept of ‘being in harmony with nature’ has another perspective. Native Hawaiians saw the aina as limited. They were very careful while stewarding nature’s resources and only took as much as they needed to survive. Greed was unfamiliar to them. They had respect for all species and were aware that if they went beyond nature’s limits, certain species may be extinct. That would result in breakage of the food chain and disruption in the harmony.
The idea of Aloha Aina I adopted regarding balance in nature was implementing conservation practices. I started my journey by living more with the seasons and how to reduce my impact in a simple and happy way.
Let Your Aloha Aina Guide You In Life
I must say the Indigenous culture of the Native Hawaiians was a wake-up call for me. It made me shift my mindset to consciousness, greater respect, and gratitude towards nature. It ignited my journey to restore my balance in life and my connection with nature. I’m how to slow down and listen to what my Aina is trying to say. And I believe that every one of us has the power and possibility to do that. Because after all, no matter who we are and what we do, our roots come from nature and we all have an innate capability to connect with it.
Maybe the concept of Aloha Aina sounds familiar to you. Because it did to me. Deep down I knew all of this and it felt like coming home. The feeling of stopping searching and finally finding your answer.
In my next blog, you will find out why Aloha Aina sounds so familiar.
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